Tigers beat Indians behind second half run

December 29, 2011

In a match-up of teams from the same conference, Fred T. Foard and St. Stephens battled Wednesday for non-conference bragging rights and a spot in the girls fifth-place game in the Catawba Valley Classic.

Tied 28-28, Foard pulled away with a 10-0 run in the third quarter, which helped lift the Tigers to the 57-35 rivalry victory against St. Stephens.

â€śWe talked about some things before the game, and I think the girls responded,â€ť said Foard coach Brad Mangum. â€śI think we challenged them defensively, and we challenged them to run an effective offense. I think we did those two things tonight pretty well.â€ť

After trailing 23-17 at the half, the Indians responded to tie the game at 28 midway through the third quarter. A flurry of Indians turnovers, though, helped the Lady Tigers score 10-straight points.

Foard's Brooke Robinson scored nine of her team-high 14 points in the quarter.

The Foard run continued in the fourth. Through the first seven minutes of the final stanza, the Lady Tigers outscored St. Stephens, 15-1. The run eventually carried Foard to the victory.

Mangum said there will be a much different feel to the game when the two schools meet in Northwestern 3A/4A competition.

â€śSt. Stephens is a very well-coached team,â€ť he said. â€śIt's fun to play as many games here as we do. Still, conference is a whole different ball game. There is a lot more on the line in those types of nights. We still have to come prepared against teams as well-coached as them.â€ť

The Lady Tigers take on Maiden in today's fifth-place game. The fifth-seeded Lady Blue Devils were victorious against eighth-seeded Bunker Hill, 58-43.

â€śThey've got a very good player in Sabrien Gaither,â€ť Mangum said. â€śShe is a very good player. We have to be prepared for her. If we can just come out and give the type of defensive effort, we'll see where we end up after that.â€ť